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Reviews > Clothing > Jackets and Vests > Marmot Flurry > Raymond Estrella > Test Report by Ray Estrella
MARMOT FLURRY JACKET
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TESTER INFORMATION
I have been backpacking for over 30 years, all over the state of California, and also in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Utah. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, and average 500+ miles (800+ km) per year. As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller volume packs. I start early and hike hard so as to enjoy the afternoons exploring. I usually take a freestanding tent and enjoy hot meals at night. If not hiking solo I am usually with my brother-in-law Dave or fiancée Jenn.
INITIAL REPORT
Product Information
Manufacturer: Marmot Mountain, LLC Product Description
The Marmot Flurry Jacket (hereafter referred to as the Flurry or jacket) is a light weight, synthetic fill jacket. It arrived with three hang tags attached. One had the size, color, style number and name, one was an ad for a trekking give-away, and the last talked about Marmot and had some jacket info on the back. (The information shared is included in the Product Information section above.) I requested an extra large to accommodate my long arms and to allow me plenty of layering room, should I need it. It fits well. The Flurry has an orange YKK nylon zipper running down the front of it. This zipper is double ended allowing it to be opened from the bottom while the top is closed. It has a zipper pull that is flat and…gray in color! The zipper is backed by a 1 in (2.5 cm) wide orange draft-stop. A piece of nylon webbing has been sewn on to it directly under the zipper to keep it from snagging. The attached hood sits atop a cadet-style (stand-up) collar. The hood is constructed with a center panel that gives it a much better shape and fit than the two-piece constructed hoods that I have used in the past. The hood is adjustable around the face opening and the jaw-line by the means of orange elastic cords running through tethered cord locks. The hood has a brim which is another feature I like in a winter jacket. The cuffs have an elastic band sewn in, and have orange Velcro closures to allow them to be snuggly closed around my wrist. The sleeves are cut with what Marmot calls "Angel-wing Movement, a Marmot exclusive: a jacket and sweater design whereby armholes and sleeves have been engineered to allow your arms every-which-way movement." It is my feeling that means that they let the armpit drop a little lower than is the norm. My Marmot Down Sweater and Plasma Parka are made the same way. The inside is lined with dark gray "Flashback P-220 nylon. Retro ripstop downproof lining fabric". I think what makes it "retro" is the cool psychedelic pattern it has. It is very silky feeling. I wore it with a t-shirt the day I received it and it felt great. Centered inside of the jacket, where the collar meets the body, is an orange and gray flat nylon hang loop with two Marmot "M"s on it. Underneath it is a sewn-in "Marmot" label. Directly under the label is a tag stating "Made in China", along with the size. Attached to a side seam inside the jacket, on the left, are four consumer tags with a material list, some mystery numbers, and laundering instructions printed on them. (They are; close all fasteners, machine wash cold, tumble dry warm, do not bleach, iron, dry clean or use fabric softener. (Uh, I'm a guy. That won't be a problem! What is fabric softener?) An inside zippered pocket is large enough to hold a 1 qt/L water bottle with room to spare. It also doubles as a stuff sack but is quite a chore to do so at home. I was worried I was going to tear the fabric. I'll see later how feasible it is in adverse conditions. Here is a picture of it stuffed into its pocket-sack. As can be seen the sack follows the shape of the lining where it goes around the sleeve. It is roughly 11 x 11 x 5 in (28 x 28 x 13 cm) in size when packed. The collar and top 4 in (10 cm) of the zipper's draft-stop has been lined with DriClime fabric. This is how Marmot explains the fabric. "DriClime® fabrics are 'plaited' bi-component denier gradient knits made of two distinct layers of 100% polyester yarns. The layer closest to the skin has a larger denier yarn and a brushed surface, which decreases the surface area next to, and contact with, the skin allowing for greater movement of perspiration to the outer layer. The outer layer has a smaller denier yarn with higher surface area, which powerfully pulls moisture away from the body and allows it to spread out and evaporate." The reason for its use on the Flurry is to manage moisture caused by condensation from my breathing. It will be interesting to see how this does. The Flurry is insulated with Primaloft Sport insulation. Here is what Marmot says about it. "High loft insulation from Primaloft, Sport is a blending of micro and macro denier fibers to maximize softness, durability and compressibility. Superior water repellent finish for warmth when wet and fast drying." The insulation appears to be in sheet form, and feels to be no more than a half inch (1.75 cm) thick anywhere in the jacket. It has no baffles and with the exception of a seam in the lower section of the sleeves, none of the seams are sewn through. The Primaloft is attached only to the outer shell, the lining slides freely past it in all areas but the sleeve seam mentioned. As this is my first jacket with Primaloft insulation I will be very interested to see how such a thin layer will do at keeping me warm. So far in the two days since I received it I have been wearing it in 25 F (-4 C) weather with good results. This concludes the Initial Report of the Marmot Flurry. The following reflects the first two months of use. Field Conditions
I have used the Flurry at Itasca and Maplewood State Parks in Minnesota in November and December. Temps were down to 3 F (-16 C) with winds to 20 mph (32 km/h). Observations
I recieved a pleasant surprise when I got back to California from my last Minnesota trip. A very nice looking blue Flurry Jacket was waiting for me at the office. As this is a much better color for me all testing will be done with the blue model. (I gave the orange jacket as a Christmas present to the handicapped daughter of a friend that just loved the orange color as it is one of her school colors.) The relatively thin Primaloft insulation really does work well. Even at 5 F (-15 C) my torso was comfortable (although my legs were pretty cold, Flurry pants anyone?) It seems to be very close in warmth to the Down Sweater that I have from Marmot also. Because of using it as my everyday jacket for two three-week stretches in Minnesota the Flurry has seen a lot more use than my hiking jackets normally do. It is holding up very well. I stuff it into my computer case when I fly, along with stuffing into my packs, and it has not suffered from it. I do not stuff it into it's inner pocket any more though. It is so tight that I am concerned that I am going to tear something. (I am worried about the jacket too…) This concludes the first two months of use. The following reflects the final two months of extended testing. Field Conditions
January and February saw the cold temps finally hit Minnesota. I wore the Flurry in -18 F up to 0 F (-28 to -18 C) in about 4 in (10 cm) of snow. The wind was blowing up to 30 mph (48 km/h) making for some wicked wind chills. Observations
I continue to be impressed by the Flurry's insulating abilities. I have been convinced that down is not the only way to go to keep warm and have a compressible package. The only thing that I have found to be problems are the size of the inside stuff pocket. I wish that it was a little bigger so as not to have to apply so much pressure to stuff the jacket. And the DWR is not very good. Either it could use a change of fabric or a better application of the DWR coating. (This could very well be an isolated incident affecting my batch of coats.) Otherwise I have been very happy with the Marmot Flurry. I thank Marmot and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this nice jacket.
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